The Pilot Project Component will continue through years 21-25 (2007-2012) of the Indiana Alcohol Research Center (IARC). This Component is a mechanism for funding promising, innovative research projects, for attracting new investigators to the alcohol research field, for developing methodologies that can be used by investigators in the IARC as well as investigators all over the country, and for exploring areas of long-range relevance to the overall aims of the IARC. The flexibility inherent in the Pilot Project mechanism has allowed the IARC to respond rapidly to unique scientific opportunities as they have arisen and to support research projects with good potential for evolving into extramurally funded research programs. The IARC Pilot Project Component has had a demonstrably strong stimulatory effect on the growth of alcohol research on the ID campus over the past 19 years. There has been a remarkable rate of success in obtaining independent extramural funding, subsequent to the receipt of IARC pilot funding, for both new investigators as well as for more senior scientists who have entered new alcohol-related research arenas. Based on past performance, we anticipate that this component will result in continued growth of the IARC research program in important new directions. The Administrative Core is responsible for managing the pilot projects which are under the direction of Jan Froehlich with input from David Crabb, Sean O'Connor, Larry Lumeng, and when needed, the Advisory Committee.